Adani Defence and Aerospace has handed over a second Drishti-10 Starliner surveillance drone to the Indian Navy, bolstering India’s maritime capabilities to monitor shipping lanes and piracy. The firm earlier this year delivered the first Drishti-10 and the second unmanned aerial vehicle inducted at Porbandar in Gujarat.
The Drishti-10 Starliner, manufactured by Adani at its Hyderabad facility, has been developed from Israel’s Hermes 900 medium-altitude long-endurance UAV design. It is an intelligent surveillance and reconnaissance platform with an endurance of up to 36 hours and a payload capacity of up to 450 kgs. The most important thing is that it is the only all-weather military platform to have obtained NATO’s STANAG 4671 certification to fly safely in both segregated and unsegregated airspace.
Equipped with beyond line of sight and satellite communications-based operations, Drishti-10 assures multi-payload persistence and fully autonomous operations. In the roles for which it was designed, this would serve as a force multiplier for the Indian Navy in effectively surveilling large maritime territories and providing unmatched situational awareness.
The delivery is considered quite a milestone as it integrates advanced payload suites onto the MALE platform, thus equipping the Indian Navy with enhanced capabilities for maritime surveillance. MALE UAVs are designed to operate at altitudes from 10,000 to 30,000 feet, normally utilized for reconnaissance and surveillance, with an endurance of 24 to 48 hours.
The Army also has a previous supply of Drishti-10 Starliner provided by Adani Defence. While the Navy got the first drone in January, the second was provided to the Army in June. The Indian Army plans to deploy its first Drishti-10 at its Bhatinda base in Punjab, giving a line of sight over the western border with Pakistan.
Recent operational milestones achieved during flight tests in Porbandar and Bhatinda mark a new beginning for indigenous unmanned defense capabilities in India. The Drishti-10, which has been known for its reliability above 32,000 feet, has shown excellent performance under adverse conditions, reinforcing India’s commitment to innovation and resilience in the realm of defense technology.
The launch of Drishti-10 Starliner propounds a far-reaching dream for the nation’s defense in the days to come. Less than three years have been taken by Adani Defence to roll out MALE UAV, which basically takes five or six years in the industry to develop.
Subsequent to the recent visit to the Porbandar base, Rear Admiral Janak Bevli, Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Air), went through the ongoing operations and interacted with the Adani Defence team, led by AVM KVR Raju, VM (Retd.), Technical Head – UAVs and Missiles.
This induction is a critical leap in that journey of India for becoming self-sufficient in defense technology and shows the excellence of collaboration between Adani Defence and the Indian Navy, bound by common commitment to protect maritime interests.
